By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Cluj Napoca combined its debut appearance in the Basketball Champions League regular season with a win. With Elijah Stewart and Patrick Richard scoring more than half of their team’s points, the Romanian side beat Darussafaka Basketball 66 – 60 at home.
Stewart scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds while Richard added 17 points to stand out offensively in a defense-dominant game. Only Nathan Boothe (14 points) scored in double figures from Darussafaka that began the game on a high note but failed to finish it in a similar manner.
Darussafaka led 14 – 21 at the end of the first period until Cluj made the counterattack that found them up 32 – 31 at halftime. The hosts kept pushing to solidify their advantage and even get a double-digit advantage, 61-50 with five minutes to play.
This margin proved to be too much for Darussafaka and more than safe for Cluj that held on despite scoring just one point in the last two minutes.